Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1382

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.2 linear_foot (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Bert Hansen collection of Sigerist Circle material, 1991-2003, Ms. Coll. 1382, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1991-2003 (inclusive)

Creator:

Sigerist Circle and Hansen, Bert

Form:

Correspondence, Minutes (administrative records), Administrative records, Publications (documents), Newsletters, and Bibliographies

Abstract:

The Sigerist Circle, organized in 1990, is a group of health-left medical historians, as well as scholars and other supporters interested in the history of health care and the biomedical sciences; with special interest in the issues of class, race, and gender. This collection contains correspondence, minutes and agendas, and publications of the Sigerist Circle, dating from 1991 to 2003.

The Sigerist Circle, named after leading health-left physician Henry Sigerist (1891-1957), was organized in 1990, in Baltimore, Maryland, following the American Association of the History of Medicine meeting. The Circle is a group of medical historians, as well as scholars and other supporters interested in the history of health care and the biomedical sciences; with special interest in the issues of class, race, and gender. The group uses Marxist, feminist, and related critical methodologies in the analysis of medical history.

The Sigerist Circle holds a Scholarly Session, immediately before the American Association for the History of Medicine annual conference, during which cutting-edge scholarship on areas of interest to the membership is showcased and there are presentations by activists and community organizations (https://sigeristcircle.org/about.html). In addition to the Scholarly Session, the Sigerist Circle issues newsletters and bibliographies of publications relating to left issues in medicine and medical history in order to broaden the Circle's scholarship and facilitate information sharing.

Walter Lear (1923-2010) was a founding member and a long-time secretary of the Sigerist Circle until his death in 2010. At the time of the Circle's formation, there were only a handful of members, but over the years, membership has grown to about 200. According to donor and member of the Sigerist Circle, Bert Hansen, Lear was "crucial to building [the Circle's] importance and continuously supporting its activities, both in vision and in practical terms." Other key leaders in the organization were Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Ted Brown, Elizabeth Fee, Beatrix Hoffman, Pauline Mazumdar, Ed Morman, and Corinne Sutter.

The bulk of the above information taken from: https://sigeristcircle.org/

This collection contains correspondence, minutes and agendas, and publications of the Sigerist Circle (not to be confused with Great Britain's Sigerist Society). Researchers will find a small number of letters, generally speaking addressed to the Sigerist Circle's membership, and relating to administration, meetings, formation of the Speakers Bureau, and membership updates. Authors of letters include Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Ted Brown, Bert Hansen, Walter Lear, and Ed Morman. The letter dated April 17, 1991, includes a draft for by-laws. There is an agenda for the 1991 Annual Meeting's business session; minutes for the 1992 and 1993 Annual Meeting's business session; and minutes of the 1994 Steering Committee meeting.

The bulk of the collection consists of publications of the Circle, including a copy of Ed Morman's "Sigerist Circle Cumulative Bibliographies;" the Sigerist Circle Newsletter (1991-1993) and its later iteration Sigerist Circle Newsletter and Bibliography (1994-2003); and Sigerist Shorts (1994-1999).

The collection provides a glimpse into the issues important to the Sigerist Circle, the areas of research and investigation, and the ways in which the Circle worked and administered its own operations.